NBA Players Union chief Billy Hunter, unable to secure an invitation to address NBA players directly, has released online his response to a report that criticized his leadership. / Mary Altaffer, AP

by Jeff Zillgitt, USA TODAY Sports

by Jeff Zillgitt, USA TODAY Sports

Billy Hunter, on indefinite leave of absence as the National Basketball Players Association's executive director, defended his actions in a report released Friday morning as All-Star Weekend began in Houston, saying he did not steal or embezzle funds and does not deserve to lose his job.

In response to the unflattering independent report conducted by the law firm of Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison, Hunter released a rebuttal.

In a statement, one of Hunter's attorneys, Michael Carlinsky, said, "The evidence does not show that Mr. Hunter embezzled, or stole money from the NBPA. The Report also does not cite to a single NBPA policy or rule that Mr. Hunter allegedly violated. The Report can best be characterized as one law firm's judgment by hindsight with which we respectfully disagree."

The U.S. Attorney's office in Manhattan is also investigating the NBPA, and its investigation remains ongoing.

Hunter, executive director since 1996, is in a battle to save his $3 million a year job. The Paul, Weiss report slammed Hunter's hiring practices, which included charges of nepotism. Potentially more damning was the report's claim that Hunter didn't have his contract extension properly approved and when notified that it wasn't approved properly, Hunter took no action.

According to Hunter's attorneys, he will not speak to players this weekend, and it remains unclear if players will act on Hunter's future.

"We told the so-called Interim Committee this morning that we would not be coming to Houston after they made clear over the past two weeks that we would not be welcome, the lawyers said in a statement to the union. "If the IEC have changed course, it is only because we accepted their "no". We continue to believe that the IEC's suspension of Mr. Hunter and any adverse action that might be taken this weekend without Mr. Hunter is unfair and invalid."

Carlinsky added: "We have been asking for two weeks if we can come. The message from the interim executive committee was you are not coming. On every call I have raised this issue of attending with their lawyers and they have said consistently you can continue assuming you are not coming. How convenient it is for the lawyers now to be suggesting they have not definitely told us one way or other, where for two weeks we've been asking. This is just convenience on their side because we understood their message to be you can't come."

Hunter's rebuttal includes a 21-page response to the Paul, Weiss report, a three-page executive summary, supplemental exhibits and Power Point presentation titled "NBPA Mid-Winter Meeting 2013."

Among the findings in the report Hunter's attorneys released Friday:

â?¢ Hunter's contract, signed in 2010 by Hunter and Derek Fisher, is valid and enforceable and that it did not require 2/3 of NBPA player representatives and executive committee members to ratify. The Hunter report states that if it did indeed require ratification, it was Fisher's responsibility to make sure that happened.

â?¢ Hunter's hiring decisions, particularly of family members and close friends, "were legal and in compliance with the union's constitution and by-laws."

â?¢ Hunter defended the union's business decisions, including the NBPA's relationship with investment firm Prim Capital, which employs his son Todd.

Hunter's report did not go into detail about that relationship, and the report simply cited the Paul, Weiss report, which said, "the Report does not find fault with a single investment made by the Union."

Paul, Weiss released a statement Thursday saying it would not release information it had found regarding "purported agreement between the NBPA and Prim Capital" because "we are convinced that disclosing additional findings from our continued investigation now could jeopardize the integrity of the government's criminal investigation, and would be contrary to the NBPA's public pledge to cooperate fully with the government's criminal investigation."

â?¢ Under Hunter's leadership, the union "has met and overcome each and every obstacle. Members' salaries, benefits and pension plans have greatly improved. NBPA members' standing and visibility as athletes and humanitarians has markedly increased around the world. The financial and medical status of recently retired members has likewise greatly improved. And the Union has been moved from millions in debt to more than $80 million in net assets while dealing with two recessions and two lockouts. â?¦

"As always, Mr. Hunter is looking forward to continuing to work with the Executive Committee and Board of Player Representatives to provide leadership on behalf of the Union's membership. Mr. Hunter looks forward to working on behalf of each and every one of the Union's members to continue achieving the NBPA's objectives."

It is clear Hunter will fight to remain executive director. His contract runs through June 30, 2015 with Hunter's option to remain through June 30, 2016 and the executive committee's option to keep him through July 1, 2017.

The contract Hunter signed details the terms of his termination, if necessary, including "for cause" termination and "without cause" termination.

If players want to fire Hunter, they need a majority vote from the executive committee. If they fire him for cause, they need to prove "embezzlement, theft, larceny, material fraud or other acts of dishonesty," according to Hunter's contract. If they fire him for cause, the union must pay Hunter for the remainder of the year and for any accrued or unused vacation.

If they fire him without cause, they will have to pay Hunter the full remainder of his contract. It's unlikely the players would choose to go that route.

Toledo lawyer professor and sports law expert Geoffrey Rapp said the union would likely look at the "acts of dishonesty" phrase because no one has found Hunter committed embezzlement, theft or larceny.

"The real question is 'Did his failures to disclose rise to the level that we consider other acts of dishonesty?" Rapp said.

Corey Worcester, one of Hunter's attorneys, said Hunter did not commit "acts of dishonesty." Hunter's contract states that any dispute over a decision to discharge Hunter "shall be resolved exclusively through arbitration in accordance with the American Arbitration procedures for Labor Arbitration."

However, Worcester, told USA TODAY Sports that if the union fired Hunter for cause, "There are a lot of options being considered. That's all I can say."